Is all grass fed beef created equal?

Grass fed Holsteins used for producing milk are often used to produce beef after their milking days are over. This gets to the heart of what grass fed beef farmers are up against. Beef farmers are crafting a quality product by painstakingly managing their fields and the grasses and legumes that grow in them, controlling the size of their herd and balancing the diet of their cattle. All of this is done with the goal of getting their cattle to size in under 24 months and having that cattle yield flavorful and nicely marbled steaks. When this goes as planned, the beef is tender, flavorful and contains no off-flavors

This is not the case with an old used up Holstein called a cull cow. The beef is neither marbled nor tender. The steaks often have off-flavors as well. That's why most of this beef is sold as ground. The detection of certain undesirable flavors has a larger margin of error when all the beef from a Holstein is ground and the price is right. Even if the consumer finds these burgers lacking, buyer remorse is unlikely. So what's the problem

If a farmer wants to provide you a quality steak from a 100% Angus beef cattle, he has to do all the hard work mentioned above realizing that there's no guarantee he'll succeed. Furthermore, while each head of cattle may produce 60lbs of quality steaks, 340lbs of beef remain. All of this gets ground and sold as bulk ground, hamburger patties, beef sticks or jerky because few consumers have discovered the deliciousness nor have the interest in cooking short ribs, hanger steak, petit tenders, flatirons, skirt, brisket, flank or pot roast for that matter. The ground tastes as good as the steaks, but it's ground. People aren't willing to pay much of a premium for ground. So this is where the conundrum lies. To just break even, a grass fed beef farmer still has to charge more for his ground than the ground produced from an old Holstein since the money's been made on the milk produced by the younger cow. So, when you talk about sustainability and helping the small farmer etc, consider whose beef you're buying when you find ground beef at a fire sale price. Not all beef is created equal.

Local Pastures Beef

All Local Pastures™ beef comes from pasture-fed and raised small herds of cattle. None of the farmers with whom Local Pastures™ works raises more than 100 head of cattle at any given time. With such small herds, Local Pastures™ can be assured that all cattle are raised humanely or as we like to say "the old-fashioned way." In the spring, summer and fall, cattle graze on the lush grasses of Pennsylvania farm land. In the winter the cattle are fed hay harvested from the farm's own pastures. None are ever sent to a feedlot.

To meet growing demand for Blaistix Snack Sticks, Local Pastures is in the process of finding other small farmers, particularly farmers in Illinois. Why Illinois? Local Pastures has teamed up with a processor of snack sticks in Paxton, IL, Classic Meat Snacks, to help meet demand. 

Of course, all cattle raised by Local Pastures™ farmers are raised without added hormones or antibiotics. In today's market, it is very trendy to market 100% pure Black Angus beef or Certified Angus Beef. While the Black Angus and Angus breeds are considered a quality breed of cattle, Angus by no means is the quality standard bearer. The prominent cross-breed of cattle raised by Kookaburra Farm is Black Angus and Limousin. Matt at Kookaburra has found that this cross produces the best quality beef. Cross-breeding is the small farmer's effort to produce cattle that can thrive in the changing climate conditions of Pennsylvania while still producing quality finished beef. Local Pastures™ believes that breed claims made by restaurants and grocers are primarily marketing tools and aren't an indication of any objective increase in quality.

You be the judge. When seasoned and cooked properly, the beef supplied to your local grocer by Local Pastures™ will taste great. Also, you will have made your contribution to the local economy and to sustainable agriculture. Local Pastures™ supports local farmers and sustainable agriculture. With your purchase of Local Pastures™ quality beef, you will be doing the same. When it comes to snack sticks, the breed is even less important. However, sticks and ground made from cull cows, milking cows past their milking days, can have distinctive off flavors. Local Pastures does not use beef from cull cows.

The Local Pastures Story

Local Pastures® has evolved since being founded in 2008 by Blaise Santianni. After spending 2 years supplying fresh and frozen ground beef, steaks and some seasoned products to a variety of stores in Southeastern, PA, Blaise shifted his focus to beef snack sticks. Beef snack sticks made with 100% grass-fed beef raised without antibiotics and hormones are shelf stable, portable and great sources of protein for people on the go.



Most importantly, however, is the fact that discerning customers love them and keep demanding more. So while Local Pastures® will still supply frozen ground beef, hamburger patties and occasionally steaks to stores in Southeastern, PA, healthy, protein-rich beef snack sticks will be supplied nationwide to retailers and online to customers looking for a new, healthy way to eat the best beef farmers can raise!